Meet the leading men of The King And The Commissioner

Director Shaji Kailas and scenarist Renji Panicker made two blockbusters in the mid-nineties. In the first one, Commissioner (1994) Suresh Gopi was city police commissioner Bharath Chandran IPS. The next one, The King, had Mammootty as a daredevil district collector named Thevallipparambil Joseph Alex IAS.

The two took on the mighty and the powerful and, needless to say, emerged victorious.

The two characters are coming together on screen in The King And The Commissioner, which releases today (March 23). As the two popular characters make their comeback on the silver screen, here is a look at their past glory.

Bharath Chandran IPS, hero of Commissioner, punishes wrongdoers in his own strict way. He spits venom, in good English, regardless of whether it is a criminal or a high ranking officer in uniform. He has a heart of gold and does everything with style, even lighting a cigarette.

One of the highlights of Commissioner was the fiery baddie, master manipulator Mohan Thomas, who dreamed of leaving his stamp as evil incarnate. The film was flooded with amazing dialogues that continue to excite viewers even today.

Bharath Chandran IPS, in 2005, was a sequel to Commissioner. The film was well accepted by audiences.

Bharath Chandran remains Suresh Gopi's most popular character to date. Movie buffs and admirers still repeat his dialogues like Just remember that... and, of course, Sshhhittttt....

District collector Thevallipparambil Joseph Alex in The King may not be Mammootty's most popular character in his highly illustrious career, but it did make a tremendous impact. The way he adjusts his hair after making some strong statements remains in the memory after all these years.

And Joseph Alex's sermon to his deputy Anura Mukherjee (Vani Viswanath) on what is the real India remains one of the most exciting dialogues in Malayalam cinema. Remember Mammootty saying it needs sense, sensibility and sensitivity....?

Watch the two icons on screen once again in The King And The Commissioner.